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Success Story

TalentEdge Returns Fellow to First Love

10/27/2016

When Morgan Solar’s Director of Science, Stefan Myrskog, recruited Alma Bardin to join the team as a TalentEdge postdoctoral fellow, Alma jumped at the chance. She left a position at a research hospital to return to her first love: quantum optics and the interactions between light and matter. During her fellowship, Alma worked closely with Morgan Solar’s engineers and scientists to update standard performance characterizations with a flexible laser system for improved reliability, accuracy and reduced costs.

Working for a cleantech start-up has given Alma the chance to make real changes to the world and she is thriving in her new position. “I love the fast-paced environment,” Alma beams. “We’re already working on creating new iterations of the laser tester I helped develop.”

She has also had an opportunity to address her work on a global platform. She recently presented her findings at CPV-12, an international conference on concentrator photovoltaic systems—Morgan Solar’s bread and butter—in Germany. “The conference was really a highlight for me. It was a moment when applied academics and industry came together. The participants were very excited with our findings. And TalentEdge made it happen.”

Morgan Solar recently made Alma a full-time member of their science team.
“We’ve had a phenomenal experience with the TalentEdge program,” co-founder Nicolas Morgan says. “As a start-up, we simply would not have had the funds to bring in top talents like Alma and Stefan, a former recipient of OCE’s First Job Program grant.” TalentEdge helps bring in non-dilutive funding, which investors and stakeholders love to see, says Nicolas. “It’s always important to find creative ways to fund a company. The more third-party validation you get, the better the company looks.”